Cookery for every household

Any scraps of bread may be used for this. Put them into a basin, cover them with cold water, and soak them until quite soft. They should be soaked all night if time permits. Then strain off the water, and squeeze the bread as dry as possible. Measure it, put it into a basin, and beat it with a fork until quite free from lumps. Prepare the fruit, chop the suet, and add them to the bread with the other dry ingredients. Mix well together and moisten with a beaten egg and a little milk. Put the mixture into a well-greased mould, cover with greased paper, and steam until firm to the touch and thoroughly cooked. Serve plain or with custard or white sauce. Notes. — This mixture may be baked instead of steamed. It should be put into a greased Yorkshire pudding tin and, when cooked, cut in pieces, placed on a hot dish and sprinkled with sugar. Figs and candied peel may be used instead of raisins. Time to steam, 2 to 3 hours. Sufficient for 5 or 6 persons. Probable cost, 6 d. 1746. Cabinet Pudding (Plain) Bread and butter. 1 oz. sugar. £ pt. milk. 1 or 2 eggs. 2 oz. Valencia raisins. Flavouring. For the above ingredients choose a basin or plain mould that will hold a pint or a little over, and grease it very carefully with clarified butter. Stone the raisins, cut them in halves, put them on a plate in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes to dry ; then use them for decorating the mould. Cut some bread, rather less than half an inch in thickness, remove the crusts and butter it. Then cut it in small pieces and lay it in the mould very loosely. Add the sugar and any remaining raisins. The Cabinet Pudding mould must not be more than half full in order to allow room for the bread to swell. Beat up the eggs in another basin, add the milk and flavouring to them, and then strain over the bread. Cover the pudding with a piece of greased paper, and let it stand for half an hour, so as to soak the bread thoroughly. Then steam very slowly until firm to the touch. Let the pudding stand for a minute or two after removing it from the saucepan, to allow some of the steam to escape ; then turn it out carefully on to a hot dish. Serve with custard or jam sauce. Time to steam, 1 hour. Sufficient for 4 persons. Probable cost, 6 d. to 8 d. 1745. Brown J lb. brown breadcrumbs. 1 oz. butter. A little grated lemon rind. 2 oz. brown sugar. Bread Pudding 1 gill milk. 2 oz. glace cherries. 2 oz. candied peel. 2 eggs. 1 tea-sp. baking powder. A pinch of salt. Take some rather stale brown bread and rub it through a sieve to make the crumbs. Weigh out the required quantity and put them into a basin with the butter, sugar, and grated lemon rind. Heat the milk almost to boiling point, pour it over the ingredients in the basin, and soak for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the fruit : cut the cherries in small pieces, and shred and chop the peel. Add these to the mixture with the yolks of eggs and baking powder, and, lastly, stir in the whites of eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and the baking powder. Pour the mixture into a mould that has been well greased and decorated with a few pieces of cherry. Cover with greased paper and steam slowly until well risen and firm to the touch. When ready, turn out and serve with lemon, jam, or wine sauce. Time to steam, § to § hour. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons. Probable cost, Id. 1747. Cabinet Pudding (Richer)